Ricardo
by pjrbcb
Summary: "For Kate loves their puppy like she loves everything else. With fierce loyalty, compassion, and a softness that will never not take his breath away."
1. Chapter 1

_**Ricardo**_

* * *

Rick Castle is familiar with the concepts of cute and adorable. He has seen these traits before, has oohed and awed as much as any man would dare. He has the internet, he's seen pictures of kittens, and watched videos of puppies playing in the snow, that one where the baby panda sneezes, and of course all the clips of babies laughing that YouTube has to offer. Rick Castle himself as even raised a daughter, who is pretty darn adorable, and has hundreds of photos documenting years of her cuteness.

And then there's Kate of course. Words he never thought he would associate with his badass sexy detective, but when she is half asleep tucked into his side mumbling gibberish against his neck, there are really no other words to describe her other than absolutely adorable.

So yes, Rick knows cute and adorable, he is well acquainted with what they look like and the soft warm feelings they often evoke.

Or at least he thought.

* * *

They named him Ricardo.

Kate had picked the name. He had been so close to laughing when she said it, the snort almost out of his mouth before he saw her face, had registered the seriousness of her tone. But she hadn't been joking, there was fierceness in the way she said the name. So at the last second he had managed to rein it back, clamp his sometimes big mouth around the laugh.

Instead, he did what he does best with her. He waited her out; let her tell him the story. Thankfully she hadn't made him wait long. Seated cross-legged on the floor, her soft hair shinning in the sun streaking through his office windows, she had smiled her beautiful shy smile and let him, once again, see her heart.

She told him about Sunday brunches as a kid. How her mom and her had watched more shows than just _Temptation Lane_. How on Sundays while moving around the kitchen cooking, her mom would turn on _I Love Lucy_ reruns. She explained that Johanna absolutely loved the show, could recite her favorite episodes and had passed that love onto her daughter. She told him how they had admired Lucille Ball, how impressed they both were with how well the show held up. How years later the show was still funny, still relatable.

Kate had explained to him how she always secretly wanted to name something after the show, a connection to what her mom and she had once shared. She didn't think it was fair to subject anyone to the names Fred or Ethel, and since he was a boy she couldn't name him Lucy and Ricky was too close to Rick. So in the end she had settled on Ricardo.

So that is exactly what they named him, their bouncy bundle of joy. Ricardo.

* * *

Now as he stands in the doorway of his office looking at Kate asleep on the couch, Ricardo, their beautiful Golden Retriever puppy, asleep on her chest, one oversized paw tucked up under her neck, he now knows what adorable truly is, knows with absolute certainty that he has never seen anything cuter. So he stands and watches them in awe, feels the warmth radiating throughout his body.

For Kate loves their puppy like she loves everything else. With fierce loyalty, compassion, and a softness that will never not take his breath away.

* * *

This story will be collection of small one-shots centered around Rick, Kate and their puppy Ricardo.

_Thanks for reading! _


	2. Chapter 2

Kate just has to laugh sometimes at how much her boyfriend and her dog are alike. Not that she would ever tell Castle that she is comparing him to their Golden Retriever, but they do have some strikingly similar characteristics.

For starters, they both love to follow her around. They are somewhat obsessed with it really. Obviously Castle's need to "shadow" her is what got her into this life she lives now in the first place—her wonderful, crazy, cohabitating, dog owning life.

And Ricardo.

He follows her everywhere, every room she goes to, he is right beside her practically on top of her feet. He was so small the first few months she was terrified she was going to step on him and hurt him. Now she gets constant practice in not tripping over him and taking them both down.

* * *

Kate honestly can't remember the last time she sat down on the couch to watch a movie that didn't involve either Rick or the dog practically in her lap. Only Castle could have picked out a dog that rivaled him in the ability to cuddle. Both getting as close as they can to her. She is still at a loss as to why she makes a better pillow at night than their perfectly good _actual_ pillows. Nonetheless she wakes in the middle of the night, more often than not, to both of them using some part of her body as a headrest.

As crazy as it may sound she'll also swear that they get the same look on their face when they want something from her. They look up at with soft sad eyes, granted one set a deep brown and the other a dark blue, but the effect is the same. Add in a subtle head tilt and a sly little grin (yes the dog grins) and she is a goner.

Every time.

She gets sucked right in. Man or dog, it doesn't matter.

* * *

They are both fiercely protective of her, annoyingly so. She tripped over one of the dog's toys once. Then proceeded to watch both boyfriend and puppy leap up and try to catch her from thirty feet away, having no chance whatsoever to reach her. The next ten minutes was spent convincing both of them she was perfectly fine.

She's also noticed that they make the same small growling noise at the back of their throats when either a man or dog attempts to become too friendly with her. It would be amusing, if not so animal like. She had quickly realized that at the park no dog got near her unless first approved by Ricardo. Of course, Castle finds this funny.

* * *

But despite their jealously and their over protectiveness, despite their hovering and incessant need to cuddle, she has never felt more needed, loved or cared for. When the world beats her down and she feels completely shattered, she can come home to a place where she will be literally dog piled on while all the pieces get put back into place. A place, because of her uniquely alike boyfriend and dog, she feels the safest.

* * *

_For Berkie: Whose birthday and dog lover heart inspired the creation of Ricardo. _

_As always, thanks for reading! _


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on Ricardo. Please let's just go to bed. Please, dog, let's go to bed."

He is seriously about to lose it. He had been doing so well, too, hadn't freaked out one time during the whole thing. But he is officially at his wits end.

Castle takes in a deep breath, decides to try a different approach. Mustering up all the sternness he can manage, he tries again. "Ricardo, come! Come here, boy!"

Nothing.

The dog doesn't even flinch.

He knew this was a bad idea. He doesn't want to be here, knew he shouldn't have come home. But Kate had begged him. Told him the best thing he could do for her was to pick up their dog, go home and get a good night's rest.

She hates leaving Ricardo overnight at the doggie daycare place, says that Ricardo is always mad at them the next day. She thinks he feels like they abandon him. He knows she is right, he has seen it himself. It is has if the dog pouts, it takes him awhile to be his energetic self again.

So in an attempt to prevent her from worry about the dog all night he agreed to pick him up and go home.

That was a mistake.

The moment Ricardo couldn't find Kate at home he had gone back to the front door and whined to get out. He had eventually lay down at his spot by the door and started letting out these pitiful whimpers every so often. Castle hasn't been able to get him to move since.

So yes, Castle had been doing okay. He'd kept a level head through the whole ordeal. When some 300 pound bully had literally picked up Kate and threw her against a wall, and it had taken two other cops and Taser to take the asshole down while Kate had lay unconscious in heap on the ground, he had kept his cool.

But now Ricardo is keeping a vigil at the front door and Castle desperately wishes he was still at the hospital doing the same. Wishes he could be there holding Kate's hand as she sleeps.

* * *

Exhausted and completely drained Castle finally gives up and walks over to the entryway. He places his back to the front door and sinks hard to the floor. Ricardo crawls over to him and places his head on Castle's thigh. Castle takes one look into those sad chocolate eyes and breaks.

"I know, puppy. I know. I wish she was here right now, too."

Castle gasps on a sob, feels the warm trickle of moisture down his cheeks. He starts rubbing his hand across the dog's head.

"But I promise you that she's okay. Just a bump on the head. They are keeping her overnight to monitor her concussion, that's all. She will be home tomorrow. I promise, puppy. I promise."

Castle sits on the floor for awhile, letting the day wash over him, the constant motion of his petting soothing both him and the dog. He finally decides to call Kate.

She answers on the third ring.

"Castle," she rasps out.

"I am sorry, Kate. I woke you, I shouldn't have called."

"Shush, Castle. The nurse was going to wake me up soon anyways. What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes. Everything is fine. Well mostly fine. Ricardo"-

"Wait. What is wrong with Ricardo? Did something happen?"

"No, Kate. Calm down. Ricardo is fine. I just can't get him to move away from the front door. That's all. He must know that something isn't right. You weren't here when we got home and I read somewhere that dogs pick up on body language pretty well. I guess he can just tell."

Kate, sighs, "Oh poor, puppy."

"Ya, he's worried about you."

Kate knows he is not just talking about the dog.

"What if you put me on speakerphone? Maybe I can talk to him. Let him know I am okay."

"Oh, okay. Good idea. You think that will work?"

"Maybe, worth a shot," says Kate.

Castle takes the phone, putting it on speaker he places it down on his leg.

"Okay, Kate. You're on."

He hears Kate clear her throat, take in a deep breath. "Hi, Ricardo!" she calls through the phone. The puppy's head immediately shoots up. "Hey puppy, how ya doing buddy?"

Castle hears how hard she is trying to sound upbeat. His heart clenches with how much he loves her.

Ricardo looks at the phone then back at Castle. Castle can't help but laugh at the confusion on the dog's face.

"I think he is a little confused, Kate."

Kate laughs. "Well ya, I bet."

Standing, "Okay, Kate, keep talking to him. I am going to try and get him to follow me to the bedroom."

Castle starts walking, holding the phone down at his side. Ricardo starts to follow with his nose pressed up against the screen listening to the sound of Kate's voice.

Once in the bedroom, Castle places the phone on Kate's pillow. He lets Ricardo up on the bed to lie down. Moving to the bathroom, Castle starts to get ready for bed, chuckling when he hears the dog barking at Kate through the phone.

Castle hits the bathroom light switch and moves back into the bedroom. He crawls in bed, finally resting his head against the pillow.

Kate hears the rustle of the sheets, stops her murmuring nonsense to the dog.

"Castle?"

"Yes, Kate?"

"I'll see you in the morning, okay."

"Okay. I'll be there bright and early."

"I love you both."

"We love you, too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Castle reaches over and hangs up the phone, places it on the nightstand beside him. He can hear the heavy breathing of the almost full grown puppy beside him.

Then he finally sleeps as well.

* * *

_Thoughts and feedback always welcomed. _

_Thanks for reading! _


	4. Chapter 4

"It's impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more puppies."

~Unknown

* * *

Kate can't stop giggling. It is completely silly and ridiculous, but she can't stop laughing. When she finally gets a hold of herself, she, once again, sucks in a breath, purses her lips and blows a steady stream of air right at Ricardo's face. Like the ten times before that, the unsuspecting puppy flinches and shakes his head trying to rid of the irritant.

She does it again, this time aiming the air straight at his floppy ear. The ear curves inward and Ricardo's little paw comes up to swat at the air. Kate laughs harder. Does it again.

The retriever rolls onto his back trying to escape the nuisance; both paws now up in the air rubbing at his little face. Kate is now on her hands and knees leaning over the poor puppy. Blowing air as often as her laughter will allow.

Ricardo moves on to a new tactic. His mouth open wide as he attempts to catch the air, snapping his mouth closed when he thinks he's got it. But Kate is faster and as hard as he tries he just can't catch it.

All of a sudden the puppy is back on his feet. Over it, Ricardo walks away. He picks up his squeaky bone toy and makes his way into the bedroom, leaving Kate behind.

She leans back on her heels, shoulders slumped, a pout on her face.

"Hey, come back here," she whines.

"Puppy? Please come here, baby. I won't blow in your face anymore."

They both know that's a lie.

* * *

**Short but hopefully sweet.**

**Thanks for reading. **


	5. Chapter 5

_For Berkie: I hope this turns your giant stress ball into a giant fur ball of mushy gushy feels._

* * *

Kate is running late and she feels terrible about it. She promised them she would be on her way by four at the latest. It is now a quarter to five and she is just now packing up her stuff, trying to make her escape from the precinct. She feels absolutely horrible.

They have had this little vacation of theirs planned for a couple of weeks now. Nothing fancy, just a few days with her dad at his cabin. He had called, invited them out; claimed he wanted to spend time with the dog, thought Ricardo would enjoy the fresh air. She is not entirely sure what his true intentions are, but after a string of particularly gruesome cases a break sounded wonderful so she didn't push it.

Of course she got stuck at the 12th the day her vacation was supposed to start. The boys calling her in for help with an interrogation for the case they had been working. They swore they'd get her out by late afternoon. So Castle went along ahead of her, taking all their stuff and Ricardo to the cabin, said he'd get them all unpacked, and with a kiss she'd promised she would be there by dinner.

Kate tosses a goodbye at the boys. They say their goodbyes back, both cringe when they notice the time. Yeah, she knows the feeling. She pulls out her phone, should probably call Castle, but chickens out and sends him a text instead. She lets him know she is on her way. He doesn't respond. She makes it to her car, a knot now sitting in her stomach. Kate really doesn't want to start what is supposed to be a relaxing break, with her partner annoyed at her. She pulls out of the parking garage, praying to the traffic gods that traffic isn't horrendous.

* * *

Traffic was bad.

Of course it was, she left an hour later than she was supposed to.

She pulls into the driveway of her dad's cabin, parks behind Castle's car. Kate takes a glance at the clock as she shuts the car off, almost eight. She sighs, late, so late. She really hopes they didn't wait for her to eat, she feels bad enough already. Kate steps out of the car, feels the chill of the ever cooling autumn air whip around her. Making her way up to the house she notices for the first time that it looks dark inside.

She lets herself in and calls out into the darkness.

"Dad? Castle?"

No answer. Huh. Weird.

Kate makes her way further into the house, sees a soft light coming from the back of the cabin. She moves to the back door and steps outside, stunned at what she sees before her.

What looks like thousands of twinkling white lights have been strung across the trees lining the back of her dad's property. The small lights let off a beautiful glow that perfectly frames the old picnic table, now beautifully decorated with candles and dinner place settings. Kate is drawn further into the magically lit up space, eyes casted upward, face lit up with awe. It is truly, truly gorgeous.

She finally spots Castle and has to suck in a breath. He too is beautiful. His tall, strong body standing half in the shadows, half in the light, making him appear larger than life, mysterious.

He senses her presence and turns to face her, his smile splitting his face wide open, his eyes twinkling in the lights. She starts to make her ways towards him, the pull to be near him overwhelmingly strong.

Castle leans over and Kate notices the dog for the first time. She squints her eyes, swears the dog is wearing a bowtie. Castle gives Ricardo a little push in her direction and the dog makes his bouncy way over to her. Ricardo is in fact wearing a bowtie and Kate can't help but laugh at how adorable he looks.

When he reaches her, she kneels down to rub behind the ears of her favorite puppy. He is nearly one year-old now, just a couple weeks and he won't technically be their puppy any longer. She is pretty sure she will always call him puppy though.

Kate glances down to examine what Rick as dressed their dog in and she sees it. It catches the light from the twinkling strands above.

A ring. Tied to the bowtie their dog is wearing.

She gasps and stares in utter shock at the shiny diamond still tied to the dog. Kate is incredibly grateful all of a sudden that she is kneeling on the ground.

"Kate."

She hears her name being whispered. She startles, glances up to find Castle on one knee before her. He has one hand placed at the back of Ricardo's collar. The dog is now sitting up nice and straight, being incredibly still at Rick's side. It is as though they practiced it. Both of them poised and serious before her. She could weep at how much she loves him, loves both of them. The moment completely breathtaking.

"Kate," Castle starts again. He goes to say more but his voice cracks, he stumbles over his words. He reaches for her, she tangles her hand into the sleeve of his coat, desperate to hold on.

"Kate," he stops, hesitates again, shakes his head. Like he had something planned to say, a speech he practiced but now can't remember. She pretty sure she loves him more for it. Her beautiful writer, with the perfect words, now has none. He reaches for the ring and tries to untie it, but his hands are shaking so badly he can't get the knot undone. Castle huffs out a breath.

"I'm messing this up," he almost whines.

"No you're not, it's perfect." She reaches for his hands, cradles them in own and settles them against her chest, positive he can feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest. She can't have him thinking that this is anything less than absolutely perfect. Because it is perfect. Every second of it.

"It's perfect, Castle." She is crying now. "So perfect, I promise," she says on a sniffle. She can't help but laugh at what a mess she is. Castle laughs too and she sees the moment he visible relaxes. He tries at the ring again, successful with it this time. He holds it out in front of him.

"Katherine Beckett, will you marry me?"

She reaches for him, wraps her arms around his neck.

"Yes," she whispers against his neck. "Yes, Castle. Yes, yes, yes."

She laughs, a bright happy thing that can't possibly be contained and then kisses him hard on the mouth. He is absolutely beaming when she pulls back to see his face for the first time. She is sure she has never seen him so happy before.

She watches as he reaches for her left hand, stares in awe as he slides the ring onto her finger. The ring is stunning, the whole thing sparkling in the lights. Ricardo choose that moment to remind them of his presence, pushes his nose against their joined hands. She leans over and nuzzles at his neck.

"Thank you for keeping my ring safe, Ricardo. You are such a handsome boy tonight in your bowtie." She places a kiss on the dog's head, then reaches back for her fiancé. She cradles his face in her hands, the shine of the ring giving her butterflies.

"I love you, Rick Castle."

* * *

**A/N:** 1. I absolutely adore twinkle lights. Feel they are pretty much perfect for any occasion. 2. My puppy will be 14 in a couple of days. She will always be my puppy.

_Thanks so much for reading. Would love to hear your thoughts. _


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